X-rays are used in a variety of industrial, scientific, and medical fields to produce radiographic images. A radiographic image may be useful to display areas of different density and composition. X-rays are used, for example, in medical applications to distinguish bone from tissue. As x-rays are passed through an object and captured by film or a digital sensor, a two-dimensional representation of all the intervening objects between the x-ray source and the sensor are provided on top of each other. Therefore, to produce a 3-D representation of some object using two-dimensional x-ray images, a 3-D reconstruction of a series of images needs to occur.
Various existing systems and techniques construct three-dimensional representations of 2-D radiographic images. For example, in the dental setting, current 3-D radiography systems are provided using computed tomography (CT) or cone-beam CT-type radiography techniques. With both techniques, an x-ray imaging system revolves around an axis relative to an area of interest, such as by rotating 360 degrees (or more) around the patient and taking 180 to 360 separate x-ray exposures per revolution. These types of systems use excessive amounts of radiation to capture a large area of interest (e.g., a patient's entire mouth), and are generally not designed to be focused on a particular area of interest. Additionally, such 3-D radiography systems are generally very expensive, and not suited for the most common procedures that occur in general dentistry practice settings. Thus, there are general needs to produce high quality three-dimensional reconstructions of radiographic images with reduced radiation exposure, and at a reduced cost and complexity.